Wishing Frank Lampard success

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Frank Lampard is a Ram!

One of Chelsea's and England's greatest players to grace the game, Frank Lampard has been granted the position of manager at Derby County and has signed a three-year contract with the club.

When former players make the transition to managers, the results are often mixed. On one end of the spectrum, you have managers who go on to have the same success they had as players. On the other end, you have managers who look like they have no idea what football even is.

Obviously, I am not going to name names for either side, but you know who fits where. Intelligence as a player is no sure sign of intelligence as a manager, because the two things are widely different. It is so much harder to make 11 players function together on the pitch than it is to get your own game in order.

Frank Lampard is the latest in this list, and will certainly have one of the toughest jobs. The Championship, the second-tier of English football, is no easy hunting ground. With 46 games in the league alone, plus all the cup matches involved, there are games happening almost all the time.

Bouncing back to the PL, will take tremendous work because of the play-offs - and that is where Derby County missed out this season. After finishing sixth on the table, they lost out in the play-offs on a 2-1 aggregate to eventual winners Fulham.

The end of a promotion-less season in the Championship brings with it its share of nightmares. The players want to move to rivals who are now in the higher tier, and newer players have to be secured without the glory of a place in the PL. In some cases, it can even break the team.

In such a scenario, it is a surprise that Derby have gone with Lampard. Frank Lampard, who has little to no experience in practical management and has only recently earned his coaching qualifications at Stamford Bridge.

But everyone has to start somewhere. And Derby County is as prestigious a club to start with as any.

One of the 12 founding members of the Football League in 1888, Derby County is something of a sleeping giant in English football. This is where Brian Clough, widely regarded as the greatest ever Englishman to not coach the national side, rose to fame.

From Lampard's perspective, it is a great place to begin. Chelsea's all-time highest goalscorer has always been soft-spoken, yet unafraid of challenges and a stint in the Championship is just what one can expect of him.

Lampard is not just a smart footballer, but smart in general - he returned one of the highest IQ scores when tested by the Chelsea medical team. Of course, it doesn't mean much in the context of football, but it adds to his persona.

Frank Lampard has what it takes to succeed. He is no stranger to success. From what happened this season, Derby County just need one last push to come back into the PL, and this might just be it.

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Edited by Zeeshan Ali